Environmental protection and resource management have conventionally received worldwide importance which has increased in recent times. Ancient practices taught people to live in perfect harmony with nature. However, industrialization, urbanization, and changing lifestyles over the years have drastically affected the environment by causing pollution and environmental degradation.

What is EIA?

Pollution of the air, water and land has caused an ecological imbalance and potential health risks. As a result, regulations were introduced in the form of laws and policies on environmental protection. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is one of those efforts.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the official evaluation process to identify, predict, evaluate, and justify the related ecological, social, and biophysical effects of a proposed policy, program, or project on the environment. It provides information on alternatives and measures to be taken before any commitment, thus helping in making important decisions. The general objective of the EIA is to design projects and development activities taking into account the environmental perspective.

EIA functions

The EIA provides the following benefits:

• an opportunity for citizen participation,
• increased protection of human health,
• the sustainable use of natural resources,
• reduction of project costs and delays,
• minimized risks of environmental disasters,
• and greater government responsibility.

The EIA has the particular objective of optimizing a trade-off between development activities and socio-ecological losses. It is a management tool closely linked to the project that provides the appropriate environmental information in the stipulated time.

Legislation

Many countries now have mandatory laws or policies for environmental impact assessments. In India, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was formally introduced in 1994. Both central and state authorities share responsibility for its development and management. A post-project evaluation analysis report based on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) highlights various limitations such as inadequate selection and scope, ineffective monitoring and provides necessary guidelines. The legislation provides an opportunity to increase public awareness, initiatives by environmental groups and the business community, and to integrate environmental considerations into plans and policies. Some of the unforeseen threats to the system are poor governance, rapid economic reforms, and favors to small-scale units.

The EIA process involves three basic steps:

(a) Report preparation: involves selection, scope and documentation.

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The evaluation determines if an EIA is required or not, any project in ecologically fragile areas and that are under the regulation of the coastal zone, requires an EIA.

Scope

The scope identifies the concerns and issues that need to be addressed for a particular project. It involves the following steps:

1. Baseline Analysis: A comparison of the environmental changes induced by the project with the environmental changes expected without the proposed project is evaluated through the baseline analysis.
2. Impact Prediction: Predictive analysis forecasts the nature and significance of expected impacts.
3. Impact mitigation measures: Environmental Management Plan (EMP), risk assessment report and disaster management plan (if hazardous substances are involved in the project), rehabilitation plan (if displacement of people is anticipated) are prepared to suggest corrective measures.

Documentation

(a) A comprehensive report is prepared that summarizes the project description, regional settings, baseline conditions, impact prediction, and significant study findings.

(b) Review and decision making: the impact assessment (IA) division reviews the application accompanied by the EIA and EMP report documents, the certificate of no objection (NOC), the risk assessment and the preparation plan for emergencies, the rehabilitation plan, the details of the public hearing. , authorization from the airport authority and state forestry departments, etc. The IA is free to make visits to the site if it deems it necessary. Based on review of the EIA and other information, the IA grants or denies environmental clearance for the project.

(c) Post Project Monitoring (PPM) – The PPM ensures the implementation in accordance with the specified measures while providing the environmental authorization (EC). Therefore, it performs a double task of identifying the real environmental impacts of the project and the implementation of the desired mitigation measures of the PMA.

conclusion

To address critical issues, political commitment and public participation are essential. Improved effectiveness will also depend on strong government agency coordination, integrated decision-making, adequate training of various stakeholders, and supporting infrastructure for deliberate monitoring and enforcement. Methods for conducting environmental impact assessments are periodically reviewed for progressive refinement, which not only helps remove existing limitations, but also addresses future challenges.